LIT211 Flashcards
According to (?) mythology is a story that is usually of unknown origin and at least partially traditional that ostensibly relates historical events usually of such description as to serve to explain some particular event, institution, or natural phenomenon
Webster
According to (?) Myths are certain products of the imagination of a people which take the form of stories.
H.J. Rose, A Handbook of Greek
Mythology
According to (?) A myth is a story about gods, other supernatural beings, or heroes of a long past time.
According to (?) A myth is a story about gods, other supernatural beings, or heroes of a long past time
According to (?) Myth is a cognitive structure analogous to language through which primitive people organize their experiences.
J. Peradotto, Classical Mythology
According to (?) Myth is the symbolic form which is generated, shaped, and transmitted by the creative imagination of pre- and extra- logical people as they respond to and encapsulate the wealth of experience.
R.J. Schork, “Classical Mythology,” The Classic Journal
a make-believe story about fairies, wizards, giants, or other characters who possess magical or unusual
powers
Fairy tale
it is traditions, customs, and stories of one culture or group of people
Folklore
it is a story about the past that is considered to be true but is usually a combination of both fact and fiction
Legend
it is a group of myths from a single group or culture
Mythology
it is more than what is natural or normal; showing godlike or magical powers; exhibiting superhuman strength
Supernatural
Give the 3 types of Myth
- Pure Myth or True Myth or Myth Proper
- Saga or Legend
- Folk-Tale or Fairy Tale
Myths of this kind tend to be examples of primitive science or religion. They explain natural phenomena or the origin of things, and they describe how individuals should behave toward the gods.
PURE MYTH OR TRUE MYTH OR MYTH PROPER
Myths of this variety tend to be examples of primitive history; they contain a germ or seed of historical fact
and enlarge upon it with great flourish. A good example of is the story of the war at Troy.
SAGA OR LEGEND
Myths of this species tend to be examples of primitive fiction. Tales of this sort are told for pleasure and
amusement. Frequently the stories contain supernatural characters such as ghosts, elves, dwarfs, or
demons, and they often include elements of magic, e.g., spells, potions, and objects.
FOLK-TALE OR FAIRY-TALE
Sources of Mythology and Folklore
- Aesop’s Fables
- A Thousand and One Nights
- The Great Epics of the World
- The Panchatantra
- The Poems of Hesiod : Theogony and Works and Days.
a collection of fables under the name of Aesop over 2,000 years ago in Greece.
Aesop’s Fables
a collection of stories and fables from Arabia, Egypt,
India, and Persia that were compiled from oral tales that had been passed down through these cultures for generations.
A Thousand and One Nights
Myths and legends are usually sourced from the existing epics of the different cultures of
the world. The Iliad and The Odyssey of the Greeks, The Aeneid of the Romans, The Mahabharata and Ramayana of India, Beouwolf of England, The Song of Roland of France, El Cid of Spain, Sha Namah of Persia, Gilgamesh of the
Babylonians, etc.
The Great Epics of the World
a collection of fables which was used to educate Indian princes into becoming wise kings.
The Panchatantra
is an early Greek poet who probably flourished around
700 B.C. Much of Greek mythology came from his two complete works.
The Poems of Hesiod : Theogony and Works and Days.
state the 9 great themes of myth
- Creation
- Gods and Goddesses
- Heroic Figures
4.Monster and Demons - Animals
- The underworld
- Journeys, Quests and Trials
- The Afterlife
- World’s Destroyed
Creation may be seen in myth as chance event or something that occurred despite opposing forces; likewise an end to the world in its present form may be inevitable or threatened, whether by divine will, as a result of attack by forces of evil, or in punishment for human misdeeds.
world’s destroyed
some form of existence after death, takes as many different forms in mythologies as the culture from which
they are drawn. Some speak of paradise where the pains of life on earth are left behind. After death comes judgment, a rigorous trial is conducted, and torture awaits those who fail the trial.
the afterlife
it can prove their strength into this, in numerous myths loyalty to the dead initiates journeys to the underworld to try to bring loved ones back to life.
journeys, quests and trials
Inevitably associations with burial prompt tales of gloom and terror of the unknown yet inevitable. A strong mythic duality : Earth swallows up the dead, but equally it produces food plants and harbors mineral wealth.
the underworld
They are featured as wild creatures – predatory beasts or the elusive prey of hunters; or as helpful beings tamed by
humans, or as possessing powers.
animals
it is most familiar as the beings that a heroic figure confronts and overcomes. They defy divine
order both in their appearance –typically but not invariably deformed or hideous – and in their actions, such as attacking or capturing a human or divine victim.
monsters and demons
it is semi-divine beings: in many mythologies they have superhuman powers through divine parentage; or they may have acquired divinity through their deeds as men or women on earth, with the help of a deity, by use of magic weapons, or acquisition of magic powers through ingenuity or trickery.
heroic figures
Universally, people believed in ideal beings leading them. Such deities possess human characteristics: they have parents and offspring, and they belong to some social grouping. An important role of mythology is to reinforce and justify relations of power and leadership
GODS AND GODDESSES
it set the stage for more particular myths supporting social structures, the relation of human beings to the natural world, and questions of life and death. A creator deity brings into being the sun, moon, and stars, seas and mountains, and so on, along with deities that personify them, then plant life, animals, and humans that populate the world.
creation
STATE 12 THE MYTHOLOGIES OF THE WORLD
- Mesopotamian Mythology.
- Canaanite Mythology.
- Egyptian Mythology.
- Greek Mythology.
5.Roman Mythology. - Celtic Mythology.
- Norse Mythology.
8.Mexican and South American Mythologies. - Persian Mythology.
- Indian Mythology.
- Chinese Mythology.
- Japanese Mythology.
native mythology centered on land, and the establishment of imperial dynasties was combined with Buddhist doctrine on death and the afterlife, ultimately from India and related to Persian traditions, for
e.g., Yama/Yima as first man and king/judge of the dead.
japanese mythology
mythology is rooted in its vast land, in veneration of its emperors, whose good rule brought prosperity and was a mark of heavenly approval, and in reverence for ancestors, the link between humans and gods.
chinese mythology
derived from the Aryans, also has Indra, a warrior sky god, insuring fertilizing rain and dispatching earlier inhabitants of the new homeland and demonizing them.
indian mythology
it reflected a life of warriors and of nomadic pastoralists beginning to turn to agriculture in fertile pockets amid harsh deserts and mountains. It supported a cult held in the open air, sometimes on mountaintops, with the deities personifying beneficent and destructive forces of nature.
Persian Mythology.
The mythology of the warlike Aztecs in MesoAmerica also justified bloodshed, though they adopted the practice of sacrifice for which they are so vilified from the Toltecs, the first of many older civilizations that they overcame.
Mexican and South American Mythologies.
it glorifies battle but against a harsher natural background: life derives from ice and fire and is ultimately consumed by them.
Norse Mythology.
mythology is preserved in Wales and Ireland which the Romans failed to subdue. The druids and bards preserved the tradition of the people led by a warrior elite with spectacular achievements in terms of conquest and
plunder but without the organizational skills to consolidate an empire.
Celtic Mythology.
It incorporated those of conquered peoples but was in many respects an adaptation of the Greeks. Juno, originally an Etruscan deity of the moon, protected the city of Rome.
Roman Mythology
The major deities were associated with aspects of nature such as Zeus (sky and thunder) or Poseidon (sea), and with abstract qualities, such as Athena (wisdom) or Apollo (arts, healing, prophecy).
Greek Mythology.
The dying and rising vegetation gods of both Mesopotamia and Canaan have their counterpart in the Egyptian mythology. Osiris, Isis, Horus, and are the deities.
Egyptian Mythology.
used in its biblical sense : Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. The divinities included El (the creator), Baal (heavy rains).
Canaanite Mythology.
The Assyro-Babylonian tradition had its core of mythology of the Sumerians. The gods included Annu (sky), Enlil (storm), Enki (water), Ea (wisdom), Ishtar (fertility), Erishkigal
(underworld).
Mesopotamian Mythology.
goddess of love and beauty
Aphrodite = Greek
Venus = Roman
god of music, poetry, and the sun
Apollo = Greek & Roman
god of war
Ares = Greek
Mars = Roman
acknowledged as the leader of the new generation of gods. He is consistently identified as the sky-god.
Zeus
Zeus and his brothers determine the spheres of their authority: Zeus won the sky; Poseidon, the sea; and Hades, the underworld. The surface of the Earth and Mt. Olympus are neutral territories.
Division of Authority
is considered as the queen of the Olympians. Her name is originally a title which meant “Our Lady” or “Great lady”. She became greatly associated with the earth , chiefly with marriage and childbirth.
Hera
is primarily the god of the sea but he is also associated with earthquakes and horses. His Roman equivalent is
Neptune. Like the sea, is also unpredictable and easily aroused to anger. He is frequently pictured with a trident, a three-pronged spear which is used by fishermen.
Poseidon
each of whom took a vow of virginity in honor of the goddess they served.
The Vestal Virgins
is the goddess of the grain and the Earth’s fertility in general. Her Roman equivalent was Ceres. marriage to Zeus produced a daughter names Persephone (Roman: Proserpina).
Demeter
Marks the second generation of the gods of Olympus. Diana is the Roman equivalent. is the goddess of wild nature and of the animals who live there. She is often portrayed as the huntress with a bow and arrow, but she also carefully protects the animals in her domain.
Artemis
- Is a god said to be as complex and mysterious as Zeus. He is the god of reason and moderation, the giver of laws
and thus, the rewarder of right action and the punisher of the wrong. He is, along with his sister Artemis; A god of archery - He is also the god of poetry and music, and, in what perhaps his best known attribute, of prophecy.
Apollo
is a virgin goddess of domestic arts and crafts, of wisdom and of war. She is the patroness of Athens and the protector of the cities, in general. She is known to the Romans as Minerva.
Athena
He is the son of Zeus and Hera and is considered the god of war. He represents the uncontrollable frenzy of battle and all the destruction and horrors of war. Due to his uncontrollable rage, he is disliked by most Greeks and some say, even by
his father, Zeus.
Ares
She is the goddess of physical love and passionate desire. Her Roman equivalent is Venus. Some say that she is a
daughter of Zeus and Dione, a daughter of Oceanus.
Aphrodite
He is the master craftsman and metal worker of the gods. His forge is always a place of much activity as he designs and produces ingenious and artistic creations. His masterpieces includes the palaces of the gods, Zeus’ throne and sceptre, the chariot of Helios, the arrows of Apollo and Artemis, the sickle of Demeter and the weapons of Athena.
Hephaestus
is the youngest of the Gods, he had very primitive origins. He is the messenger of Zeus, the herald of the
gods, the guide for travellers, the leader of spirits of the underworld, giver of fertility and the patron of orators, writers, businessmen, thieves and athletes.
Hermes
is the god of the underworld. His name means, the “unseen one.” The Greeks hesitated a lot to mention his name so they often called him Pluto, which means “rich” or “wealthy” to refer to both the number of the spirits under his authority and to the fact that all crops grow from beneath the earth.
Hades
He is the god of wine and by extension, everything associated with it. Dionysus was from the beginning associated with the fertility of the grape vine and gradually this function expanded to include fertility in general (crop, animal, human). He is in this regard, the male counterpart of Demeter.
Dionysus
give the 4 ancient theories
- Rationalism
- Etymological Theory
- Allegorical theory
- Euhemerism
According to this theory, myths represent an early form of logical thinking: they all, have a logical base. For
example, the myth of Pegasus, the flying horse can best be explained by imagining the reaction of the first Greek
to see a horse. Compared to other animals they know, the horse must have seemed to fly as it gallops fast and
leap over high obstacles.
Rationalism
